Hi!
i am jelous, for you get to meet Tamora Pierce, and i am unable to leave school. *grr!* alas...
i don't really have anything new and exciting to say (since yesterday)...
so, i think i'll post the very begining of one of my numerous stories. comments and constructive criticism are welcome. sugestions are much appreciated.
here it is:

I clutched my fiddle case and dashed out of the house.
That thoughtless, inconsiderate, uncaring, b----d of a father! How dare he! Angry thoughts exploded in my head. I didn’t want to marry some snot-nosed prince! I couldn’t care less about the family name! My marriage was to save the family. Ha!
He hadn’t even asked me! I might be subject to his decisions, but that didn’t mean I was some mindless creature built to serve the family name. I deserve a say in my future!
My thoughts carried me to the cliff overlooking the ocean. The sky was grey-blue and spotted with lavender-tinged clouds. The sea pounded against the cliffs and shore. Green-blue waves rode beneath caps of white foam. A swift breeze pushed the clouds across the sky.
The top of the cliff was mostly flat, with a few large rocks that stuck up; good for seats. moss carpeted most of the top. I sat down on a rock and took out my fiddle. I set my bow to the strings and began to play. At first a fast angry melody, then melting into a sad haunting one. The music asked what will become of me? Why? Why didn’t I have a choice?
I played and played until the sun had set below the horizon.
Music was really the only way I could say what I wanted to say, not what others thought I should say. My true voice.
I was getting dark. With regret, I packed my fiddle away and turned reluctantly toward home. I dreaded facing my father.

i know the editing out at the top is odd, and possibly unnessicary, but i'm not sure whats appropriate for this site. (and i don't want to get in trouble with my school)
see ya!
~Eleanor

Hi All,
Well the video contest went GREAT thanks in large part to the efforts of Devin, Katie, Tory, Kim, and Emily. Charlotte came later, but looked great so that was fun. I got a lot of feedback from folks who came that they really enjoyed it. Now we just need to encourage more Duxbury entries. Kudos go to Greg Wadsworth, Scott Maloney and Jonathan McKenzie for their terrific kung fu action video. They were the only Duxbury participants to attend.... Maybe next year we'll get some more folks from DHS.....
Saturday we are going up to see Tamora Pierce in Boston. She's hosting a little private party to which we are invited....! I just fininshed reading City of Ember which I thought was great. Nancy Hoffman has the sequel now, but I've got dibs on it next, People of Sparks is what it's called.
What are you all reading?

Hello!
i bring you greetings from western mass! (i'm at school. northfield mount herman for anyone who wishes to know the name)
so far things have been going well, although classes have not yet begun. i start on the first of sept. same day as you guys!
so, anything new in book group? please send philosphical discussion questions! for i must have meaningful things to ponder when i am bored ( which will probably not be very often, once i start getting homework *grr!*. but that is entirely beside the point!)
"Biting the Sun" by Tanith Lee, is...interesting. theres actually some cool ideas in it. for example, if you die, (like in a car crash), then you imediately come back in a new body. its not like being reincarnated, b/c you still remember all of you life, you just have a new body... so i wonder if these people can die. are they immortal... but i don't think that many/any of you have read the book (its rather annoying to find), so i'll stop rambling about it.
so keep me posted on when you're having trips. i might be able to meet you guys at different places... 'tis quite possible!
hope to see you this fall!
~Eleanor

Hey Everybody!
i am currently at school. grr... my classes begin in a day and a half... (sept. 1)
anyway, whats up at book club? any perticularly interesting philosphical discussion topics lately?
i haven't had much time to read lately (i've been packing and unpacking a lot lately, and traveling, and stuff...) but so far "biting the sun" is pretty good. its very weird... you can die and then come back in a new body. but its not like being reborn, cuz you remember all you past experiances, you just look completely different? then i wonder if they can die at all... since they can just be put into a new body... its a cool book, lots of strange ideas.
but now i must go,
i hope to see you all, sometime this fall...
~Eleanor

Hi everybody,
Well, I for one, felt that the LOTR exhibit exceeded my expectations. It was amazing....!
Hope everyone else had a good time.
Now I'm gearing up for next week's South Shore Video Contest. It's happening on Friday, August 27th at 7:30 p.m. in the Merry Room. You're al invited. Feel free to wear Hollywood-type clothes.
(We make fun of the whole "Oscars" thing, giving out our "Felix" awards with great fanfare....)

My daughter, Gretchen was bringing back a group of kids from a sleepover at a Mass. Audubon camp in N.H. and held an improptu "Socrates Cafe" en route. She found it REALLY interesting. The kids were VERY opinionated, which made it fun. They discussed (argued) about whether or not people are destined to lead a particular life or not and whether there really is such a thing as Free Will. Destiny vs. Free Will. what do you say?
See you on Wed.

Hey!
after three weeks of no access to a computer i am now able to takl to everyone again!!! Yay!
the LOTR trip rocked!
keep posting philosophical questions online so i can still contribute to book group! and everyone else need to get into this blogging thing! more people should create accounts. they don't know what they are missing! it is indeed a good time...
anyway, as soon as i am done with my summer reading, i'm going to read "Bite the Sun" by Tanith Lee. It sounds cool.
perhaps i'll post some of my story that i'm writing, on the blog.... later, when i'm not so tired...
see ya!
~Eleanor

Hey Bookmarks -
Based on our opeing discussion the other day of why authors frequently use fairy tales as vehicles for telling a newer story, I'd like everyone to consider all the different kinds of metaphors or devices that they have found in their reading that authors use as a lens to tell a new story: a bible story re-told, a fairy tale, a nursery rhyme, for instance - how does a modern author use such a device in a new, fresh way? What does it add? Is it successful or simply cumbersome?
Think about it or our next meeting.
Ellen